A Legacy Vacation
by CrypticGirl
Summary: Legendia/Abyss crossover. Luke and his party take a vacation on the Legacy to heal the exhausted Princess Natalia. What'll happen when they meet Senel's group? What'll happen when Dist joins forces with Vaclav and Solon?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Both ToL and Tales of the Abyss do NOT belong to me.

Author's Note: This is a Legendia/Abyss crossover. Admittedly, I haven't played Abyss, so I don't know the characters too well. All I'm going by are the few cutscenes that I've seen here and there. So there might be some OOCness for the Abyss party. But I'm trying my best, based on what I have seen. So please excuse any OOCness...

--

"Very well. You're dismissed." The young princess, Natalia Luzu Kimlasca Lanvaldear stood in front of her throne, dismissing the soldier before her. The soldier merely bowed and walked away.

Natalia dropped into the throne with a weary sigh.

"Natalia...are you all right?" asked the red haired man, Luke fon Fabre.

"Oh, I'm fine, Luke. I'm just a little tired..."

"The affairs of the court have not let you sleep," Jade Curtiss, the brown-haired man said. "You need to take it easy."

"But I can't! Not when there's a kingdom to rule!" Natalia protested. "The kingdom...its people...it's my duty to make sure they're safe!"

"Your concern for your people is understandable," Jade told her, "but your coloring isn't looking good. You'll endanger your health if you continue on like this."

"He's right, Natalia," said the tall woman with long brown hair, Tear Grants. "It will do no good for your people if you fall ill."

"Just look at you!" the short girl, Anise Tatlin called. "You look like you could fall asleep any minute!"

Natalia shot her a look. "Anise!"

"Why don't you go ahead and get some sleep, Natalia," the blond haired man, Guy Cecil said. "We'll take care of things here."

"Guy...I do appreciate the offer, but I just...I can't."

"Why not?"

"It's just...I'm the princess of Kimlasca, and...I just..."

"Say no more. I understand," Guy interrupted.

"Are you sure you're all right, Natalia?" Luke asked. "It's not like you to fumble for words like that."

Natalia let out a sigh of defeat. "Very well. I shall speak with a physician tomorrow. Will that be satisfactory?"

Everyone gave out different affirmative responses. "Yeah, sure. That's fine with me."

Natalia stood up, taking a moment to straighten herself. "All right, I'm going to get some sleep...I hope."

--

"A vacation!?" Natalia exclaimed, aghast.

"I'm afraid so, Princess," the doctor told her. "You're overworked all the time. Have you been sleeping?"

"I...only a few hours in the last forty."

"Natalia, what about last night?" Luke asked. "Didn't you get any sleep?"

"No...I was tossing and turning all night," Natalia admitted. "No matter how I tried, I just couldn't fall asleep."

"You see what I mean?" the doctor continued. "You need to rest. You need a vacation."

"But my kingdom...my people...I can't just abandon them!"

"You're not abandoning your kingdom," Jade told her. "You're merely taking a break, that's all."

"And just think!" Anise added. "When you come back all rested, you'll be able to rule stronger than ever!"

Natalia sighed. "Of course you're right...I'm so exhausted, I can't even think straight!"

"Which proves that you need a vacation," the doctor told her.

"Well...all right," Natalia finally conceded. "But who's going to take care of the kingdom while I'm gone?"

"We can arrange for the other empires to help with that," Jade said.

Guy rubbed his hands together. "Personally, I think we all could use a vacation."

"So...where should we go?" Natalia asked.

"I know the perfect place," Jade replied. "It's the most magnificent cruise ship in the entire world. It's known only as 'The Legacy.' It's like a whole little world of its own. Legends tell of the many wondrous sights to see on the Legacy."

"Jade!" Natalia called. "Please don't say anymore. I'd rather be surprised when I get there."

"Natalia, your face looks brighter already," Tear said.

Natalia glanced at her with a soft smile. "I guess I do need a vacation, don't I?"

"Well, Natalia, it's your order," Luke said.

Natalia nodded. "All right. Everyone...we're going on vacation!"

--

The next day, Senel and his grup sat down for a picnic at Lumen Spring. They'd had so many picnics and parties that they were starting to get old. The group just sat in the grass, just eating and not saying a word. Of course, Norma wanted to spice things up.

"Come on! Somebody say something!" she pleaded.

"What do you want us to say?" Chloe asked.

"I don't know, anything!"

"I don't know anything..." Grune gushed.

"Aw, you poor thing," Moses cooed.

"Yes...poor thing indeed," Jay said, glaring at the bandit.

Moses returned the glare. "Who're you talkin' about, Jay?"

"Yes!" Norma cheered. "Now that's more like it!"

The group looked at her. "Uh..."

"Oh come on, don't stop now!" Norma whined. "Oh, now things are boring again!"

"Hm? Let's talk about something," Grune said.

"But what should we talk about?" Chloe asked.

The party fell silent for another moment.

"Well, since the picnic was Norma's idea again, we should let her decide," Senel said.

_I'm almost afraid to know what she has in mind_, Will thought.

"Hmm...does anyone know why things have been so boring?" Norma asked.

"That's an easy one," Jay said. "People grow weary of doing the same things over and over."

Norma looked at him. "Really?"

"Yes, really," Jay said flatly. "We have these picnics and parties almost every day, and we never do anything different."

"He's got a point there," Senel said. "There's gotta be something different that we can do."

"Let's see...spending a day at the beach..." Shirley pondered. "Camping out in the forest..."

"Oh, those are lovely ideas, Shirley," Grune said.

"Thank you."

--

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will now be disembarking at Port-on-Rage."

Luke and his group stepped off the boat onto the docks of the Legacy.

"Port-on-Rage, huh?" Anise asked. "What kind of a name is that?"

"Oh, names aren't important," Jade said, taking a map from the slot on the wall. "Let's see...it looks like the main resort is located in the town called Werites Beacon. It's a couple of miles away from here."

"All right, everyone, let's go," Luke said.

The group left the docks and began to follow the path to Werites Beacon.

"Wow...it's beautiful, even from here," Natalia said.

"It looks just like the Emerald City," Anise said.

The group looked at her. "Emerald City?"

"You know, from the Wizard of Oz. Never mind, it's an old story."

As they continued to walk, the air around them began to turn dark. At first, they paid no heed to it as they walked on. But then the air turned pitch black, making it difficult to see and breathe.

"Ugh! What is this stuff!?" Luke cried.

"I..I can hardly breathe!" Tear gasped.

"What's going on?" Natalia asked.

The mist quickly cleared, revealing a large Megant standing in front of them. In front of the Megant, the mist formed into a ball.

"What the hell!?" Luke exclaimed. "Are they merging?"

The mutated Megant monster charged forward at a blinding speed, cutting through the party effortlessly, seizing Luke by the shirt.

"No, it's got Luke!" Tear cried.

"Hang on!" Guy rushed in to rescue Luke, but as he arrived, the monster tossed Luke carelessly over its shoulder.

"Damn!" As Guy watched Luke fly through the air, the monster seized him as well. He let out a scream as the monster tossed him as well. Guy flew through the air, crashing roughly on the ground next to Luke.

Both Luke and Guy picked themselves up. Giving each other a nod, they unsheathed their swords and charged at the monster with a fierce yell.

Jade produced his spear, glowing with green energy. "We have no choice."

Anise's Tokunaga doll grew in size as she jumped on its back. "All right, here we go!"

Tear and Natalia pulled out their weapons and began to power up their artes.

The boys slashed at the monster repeatedly, but the attacks seemed to have no effect. The monster merely swung its arms wildly, swatting them away without even trying. Natalia fired scores of arrows at the monster, but that too was ineffective.

"It doesn't even feel our attacks!" Guy cried.

"Then let's try a little magic!" Anise yelled. "Bloody Howling!"

The black energy ball appeared, pelting the monster with its power. When the spell cleared, the monster straightened itself, just as healthy as ever.

"It's ineffective!" Tear exclaimed.

"Now what!?" Guy asked. "We can't retreat; we have nowhere to retreat to!"

"We can't let it follow us to Werites Beacon," Jade said.

"Then we'll have to use our most powerful attacks!" Natalia called, raising her bow into the air as a white glow flashed from her body.

"Natalia, you mustn't!" Luke cried. "Your condition..."

"I won't let that stop me! Astral Rain!" Natalia unleashed a storm of flashing arrows, raining down upon the mutated Megant. The monster began to reel for a moment before falling to the ground.

"Way to go, Natalia!" Anise called. "I had no idea you could do that in your state."

"It matters not what state I'm in," Natalia told her. "I can't just do nothing while evil roams free."

"Natalia, you're shaking," Luke said. "We need to get you to Werites Beacon quickly."

Natalia nodded. "All right..."

The part began to walk down the path again, exhaling a sigh of relief. However, Jade shot a nervous glance back at the monster as he still sensed it dark energy.

"No...something's not right!" he called.

The party stopped and looked at the monster again. To their horror, it slowly began to pick itself up.

"No, it's still alive!" Natalia cried.

"Damn it!" Luke growled.

He and Guy drew their swords again, charging at the monster once more. Natalia raised her bow, preparing to attack, but her aim was swaying back and forth, and everything became blurry in front of her. She blinked hard, trying to clear her vision. Soon she couldn't recognize the figures in front of her, and the surrounding world began to fade away. "L...Luke..."

Then everything went black.

"Natalia!!" Luke screamed as he raced to her side.

Guy also ran to him, facing the monster in a defensive stance. "Get her out of here, Luke! We'll hold off this thing!"

"Guy...are you sure?" Luke asked.

"Of course I'm sure! Just go!" Guy snapped.

"We're in trouble here!" Anise cried.

"Luke, even if it's just you, someone needs to reach Werites Beacon!" Jade added. "See if you can find some aid there!"

"How do you know I'll find someone?" Luke asked.

"If monsters like these are a regular occurrence on the Legacy, there must be some people who are strong enough to keep them at bay," Jade told him.

"Good point. Okay, I'm going!"

"Hurry, Luke!" Anise cried as her Tokunaga doll threw fierce punches at the monster.

Luke began to race down the path again. "Just hang on, Natalia..."

--

Senel and the group jumped to their feet as they noticed the sky suddenly become dark, with the storm of energy arrows streaking through the skies.

"What the hell was that!?" Moses called.

"It could be an attack," Will said.

"I've never seen anything like that," Jay said. "Could Vaclav have gotten a new weapon?"

"There's only one thing to do," Chloe declared.

"Right. Let's go!" Senel called.

The party began to run away from the picnic area to investigate the events.

"Yeehaw!!" Moses called, tossing his sandwich into the air as he ran.

Norma watched in annoyance as the sandwich hit the ground, with the bread, lettuce, and tomatoes bouncing in different directions.

"Hey, don't toss my sandwich!" she cried. "Hey, guys, wait for me!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"O abolishing melody! Arise in the name of the Necromancer! Mystic Cage!"

Jade unleashed an incredible wave of energy, hitting the Megant monster with a powerful blow. The monster fell to the ground for a moment, but then proceeded to get up again.

Meanwhile, Luke ran across the field, still carrying the unconscious Natalia in his arms. As the flash of light radiated behind him, he looked back to see what was happening. Tripping over his own foot, he fell to the ground, dropping Natalia in front of him.

"Ow...I'm sorry, Natalia..."

Suddenly, the movement in front of him caught his attention. He looked up to see Will Raynard standing in front of him, along with the other members of his party.

"Is everything all right?" he asked.

Luke looked at him in disbelief. "No..."

"Well, look what the cat dragged in!" Moses grinned.

Luke stood up. "Well, you should see the damn cat!"

Senel's party looked out in the field, where Jade and the others continued to battle with the monster.

"So they're the ones who unleashed those powerful attacks," Jay observed.

"They're pretty good," Senel remarked.

"That monster just won't die!" Luke told them. "No matter what we do, it keeps getting back up!"

"Is it another one of those fiends?" Chloe asked.

"The monsters on the Legacy have grown more aggressive lately," Will said.

"We've got to help them!" Shirley exclaimed.

"Right," Will agreed. "Let's go."

The group rushed out into battle, while Luke stayed in his spot with Natalia.

"Hang on, everyone!" Will called. "Stand back; we'll take care of this."

"Are you sure you can?" Anise asked.

"Sure, we'll take on anything!" Chloe called. "Let's go!"

Senel's group unleashed a strange blue energy, which seemed to cause all time to stop. The world became dark blue around them, and everything seemed to be frozen.

Senel and the party rushed up to the monster, pounding it mercilessly with every attack they knew. After minute of that, they quickly spread out, knocking the monster back and forth to each other like a pinball. Then, joining together, they thrust an upward attack at the monster, sending it flying across the field into the distance. Then the world around them returned to normal.

"Blastoff!" Norma called.

"Whee!" Grune sang.

Luke and his group merely blinked their eyes.

"What just happened?" Tear asked.

"It would appear that aid has arrived," Jade replied.

"Is everyone all right?" Will asked the group.

Luke's group nodded.

"We're fine," Jade said. "Your assistance is greatly appreciated."

"So, is this your first time on the Legacy?"

"Yeah," Guy said. "We were on our way to...Something-Beacon when that monster attacked us out of nowhere."

"Werites Beacon," Jade corrected him.

"Well, we'd better head back," Will said. "We need to get back to town before sunset."

"That's right," Senel agreed. "It gets really dangerous out here at night."

"Then please lead the way," Jade said.

Senel's group led the way back to Werites Beacon. Luke's party followed, while Luke carried Natalia in his arms. The sun was just starting to set below the horizon as they crossed the bridge into the city. Will turned around, noticing that Luke was breathing heavily.

"Here, let me give you a hand," Will said as he took Natalia from Luke.

"Thanks," Luke said with a relieved sigh.

"Wow, my own daughter weighs more than she does," Will remarked as he carried Natalia into the town.

"It's a good thing Harriet didn't hear that," Senel pointed out.

"Aw, is Teach getting a crush?" Norma cooed.

Will came to a halt, then handed Natalia over to Senel. "Excuse me for a moment."

"H-Hey...Will..." Senel protested as he struggled to keep his balance with the princess in his arms.

Will walked right in front of Norma, giving her a hard bonk on the head.

"Ow!" Norma cried.

"Ack..." Senel was sweating bullets as he fell to one knee, but forced himself back to his feet.

Will took Natalia back from him. "I'm sorry about that. Let's head to Musette's house for now."

"Whew!" Senel wiped the sweat from his forehead. "And Harriet weighs more than that!?"

Luke's party raised an eye at him as they followed him deeper into the city.

"Uh, Teach...why aren't we going to your house?" Norma asked softly so that Luke's group couldn't hear.

"Because Madame Musette is gone for the time being," Will said. "We could use her house."

When they reached Musette's house, Will opened the door and went inside, then set Natalia down on the sofa at the side of the room. When everyone else got inside, the two groups stood together, staring at each other in a deafening moment of silence.

"So, uh..." Luke scratched his head. "Are we just going to stand here and stare at each other all night?"

"I suppose we should start with introductions," Will said. "I'm Will Raynard."

"I'm Luke fon Fabre."

Senel's party introduced themselves.

"I'm Senel Coolidge, an Alliance Marine."

"I'm Chloe Valens, a knight from Gadoria."

"I'm Norma Beatty, world class treasure hunter."

"Treasure hunter!? Wow!" Anise exclaimed.

"I know!" Norma smiled proudly.

"I am Moses Sandor, master of the beasts!"

"He's the stupid bandit," Jay pointed out. "And I'm Jay."

"Now why'd ya have to go and say that!?" Moses cried.

"Because that's my name?" Jay replied.

"No, I mean about me bein' stupid!"

"Because you are?"

"Hey!"

"That's enough!" Will ordered.

Luke's group raised an eye again.

"What a weird group," Luke grumbled.

"Tell me about it," Guy responded.

Now Shirley introduced herself. "I'm Shirley. My true name is Fennes."

Then everyone waited for Grune to introduce herself.

"Who, me?" Grune asked.

"Er...this is Grune," Senel said. "She's a little clueless."

"That's our G-Girl for you," Norma said. "So how about you guys?"

"I'm Guy...the amazing guy."

"I'm Tear Grants."

"I'm Anise Tatlin."

"And I'm Jade Curtiss. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"It's nice to meet you all," Shirley said.

"And what about...?" Senel began, looking over at Natalia, who was still out cold on the sofa.

"I assume you're wondering about Sleeping Beauty over there?" Jade asked.

"That's...correct," Will said, uncertain. "We don't know a thing about her."

"That's Natalia Luzu Kimlasca Lanvaldear," Luke said.

"Huh?" Senel's group tilted their heads at the unusually long name.

Norma scratched her head. "Did you say her name was Natalia Lazy Su Casa Land Reindeer?"

Luke raised an eye at her. "No...her name is Natalia."

"Oh..."

"I can't believe that gal just snored through the whole damn thing," Moses said.

"It's not like that," Guy told him. "She collapsed during the battle with that monster."

"Natalia has been working very hard as the princess of Kimlasca," Jade explained. "And so she's suffered from sleep deprivation. The timing may have been bad, but this is just what she needs. She'll be fine when she wakes up."

"She's a princess?" Norma perked up. "Hello, money!"

"Now let's start talking about the next course of action," Jade said. "What kind of nightlife does the Legacy have?"

"Well, there's not much nightlife, but there are plenty of ruins to visit," Senel said.

"But they're crawling with monsters," Will added. "If you're on vacation, you may want to avoid those encounters."

"Ah, I understand. Well, I'm sure we'll find plenty of things to do." Jade slowly began to move across the room.

Chloe walked over to Guy. "It's certainly interesting to meet fellow swordfighters. You look like a worthy opponent to spar with."

Guy jumped back. "Aahhh!" He turned and ran through the nearest door to his right, quickly slamming it shut.

"That's the closet!" Senel called out.

"Well, e-excuse me..." Chloe grumbled, appalled.

Guy opened the door and stepped out, his entire body shaking. "S-Sorry...it's not p-p-personal...it's just..."

"He's afraid of women," Anise said with a sheepish face.

"Oh? I wonder why?" Chloe asked.

"It's, uh...it's a long story..." Guy told her.

"Hm...interesting," Jade muttered out of nowhere.

"Wh...what?" Jay gasped as the voice came from behind him. He spun around to see Jade leaning in towards him, looking at him through a magnifying lens. "What are you doing!?"

"Ah, ah, hold still now." Jade pulled out some measuring tape and pressed it across Jay's chest, measuring the width of his shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Jay asked again, through gritted teeth as he backed away again.

Jade straightened himself. "I said hold still so that I can get an accurate measurement of your bodily dimensions."

"And why would you want to measure my bodily dimensions?"

"Because we came here on vacation, but there are some folks back home that may try to interfere."

"And my bodily dimensions are supposed to prevent that?"

"They just might. Now give me your arm." Jade straightened out Jay's arm, measuring its length with the tape.

Jay shot a look at his companions. "I'm not understanding this at all..."

Jade then stretched the tape from the floor to the top of Jay's head, measuring his height. "Hmm...a little short, but no matter."

"Hey! What is this about my height!?" Jay protested.

"Oh, it's nothing," Jade told him. "Now, how much do you weigh?"

"Wh...what's it to you!?" Jay snapped.

In a swift motion, Jade swept Jay into his arms.

"What the--?" Jay cried out.

Jade continued to cradle the boy in his arms for a moment. "Hmm...104 pounds. Interesting." He then abruptly dropped Jay to the floor. "I'll see you in the morning, little urchin."

He turned and calmly left the house.

"Where's he going?" Luke asked.

"He did _not_ just call me 'little urchin...'" Jay grumbled.

Guy scratched his head. "So...what do we do about a place to stay?"

"Well, Madame Musette is doing business on the mainland, so you all can stay here while she's gone," Will said.

"Musette...isn't she the sovereign of the Holy Rexalian Empire?" Tear asked.

"Yes, that's right," Will said.

"You know her?" Luke asked Tear.

"Only by reputation. I haven't met her directly."

"All right, we'll be heading back home ourselves," Will said. "I'll come back to check on you in the morning."

"Thanks, Will," Luke said. "We owe you one."

"Don't mention it. Let's go, everyone."

"Wait!" Norma called. "We haven't decided what I'm going to call these guys!"

"Norma, calling them by their names should suffice," Jay told her.

"Oh, you know Norma," Senel said. "She just can't live without her nicknames."

Luke's group raised an eye. "Nicknames?"

"Let's see..." Norma stepped in front of Luke. "From now on, you'll be Lukie!"

Luke's eyes widened. "You're gonna call me that??"

Norma went to Guy next. "And you're Blondie!"

Guy dropped his head. "At least it's not 'Orange'..."

"Hey!" Anise called out. "Do you have one for me?"

"Hmm..." Norma stood in front of her now. "Should I call you Annie? Wait...I saw you riding a giant doll in that battle, so...I'll just call you Dolly!"

"Hey!" Anise protested.

"Helloooo, Dolly!" Norma sang, as she moved on to Tear. "Hmm...Tear...what kind of a name is 'Tear'?"

"It's actually a nickname," Tear told her. "My real name is Mystearica."

"Mystearica..." Shirley muttered softly. "That's a beautiful name."

"Thank you."

"Mystearica..." Norma paused for a moment. "I've got it! From now on, you're Misty!"

Tear raised an eye. "O-Or you c-could just call me Tear..."

"Well, that should do it," Norma declared. "Teach! Let's go!"

Will let out a groan. "Ah...Norma..."

Senel's group began to leave the house. As they got outside, Norma took Chloe by the wrist.

"So we've got a guy who's afraid of girls, and another guy who wants JJ's bodily dimensions?" she whispered. "What a weird group."

"Indeed..." Chloe agreed.

As they parted ways for the night, Will headed back home, where he spotted Jade standing in front of his house, looking at the sign on the pickett fence.

"I see you've found my house," Will said casually.

"Yes...it was rather hard to miss with this sign posted here," Jade told him. "Say, would you mind if I crash here tonight?"

"Uh...no, not at all," Will said, taken aback.

"Thank you." Jade walked up the sidewalk path leading to the front door and stepped inside.

"Um...after you..." Will muttered as he followed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next morning, Will got out of bed and went over to the bathroom. However, when he tried to turn the doorknob, he found it locked.

_Hmm, Harriet must be in there,_ he thought.

So Will went downstairs into the kitchen, where he actually found Harriet cooking in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Dad," she called.

Will paused. "Harriet?"

Then the revelation struck him. _That's right, I let Jade stay here for the night. He must be in the bathroom..._

"Why do you look so surprised to see me?" Harriet asked. "I live here, you know."

"Yes...sorry about that." Will sat at the dining table. "So, what's for breakfast?"

"Oh, you're gonna love it! I'm making my own special omelet."

"All right, I can't wait." Will tried to sound as enthusiastic as possible, but it wasn't easy, knowing how bad Harriet's cooking really was. But he also knew that there would be hell to pay if he let her know that.

"Okay, Dad..." Harriet said. "It's gonna be a while before this omelet is done. I wanna make sure it's just right."

Will stood up. "In that case, I'll head over to Musette's and check on our guests. I'll see you soon."

"Guests?" Harriet asked.

"Yes, a group of travelers arrived yesterday for a vacation. They're staying at Musette's house."

"I see. Have fun then."

Will left the house and walked down the long empty road to Musette's house. It was still early morning, so there wasn't much activity as of yet. The sun was rising into the sky, and the only sound that could be heard was the birds chirping.

"Looks like today will be a good day," Will told himself. "But we'll never know when Vaclav will choose to rear his ugly face..."

Upon reaching Musette's house, Will quietly went inside. The place was still quiet. Looking around, Will spotted Natalia, still sleeping on the sofa where he'd left her. Only now, she was sleeping on her side, indicating that she had tossed and turned during the night.

_She's still asleep?_ Will thought. _Well, at least she moved._

As he carefully moved closer, he noticed Luke sleeping on the floor in front of the sofa. Will scratched his head, wondering how anyone could sleep on the floor without any cushioning. He then pondered his next course of action.

_Natalia's been sleeping for quite a while,_ Will thought. _She may feel uncomfortable when she wakes up. So I think it'd be okay to rouse her..._

Kneeling by Luke's side, Will reaching over, gently grasping Natalia's forearm and shaking it lightly. Natalia's eyelids began to flutter. She opened her eyes and focused on the man kneeling beside her until her vision cleared.

"It's good to have you with us, Natalia," Will said softly. "You've been out for a long time. How are you feeling?"

Natalia sat up uneasily. "Who...are you? How do you know my name?"

"I'm Will Raynard. My friends and I came to your aid yesterday when you were attacked by that monster. And it was your friends that told us your name."

"My friends? Where are they?" Natalia made a motion to get up, putting her feet on the floor.

"Ow!"

"Oh!" Natalia gasped as she pulled her feet back, realizing that she had actually stepped on Luke.

"Owww..." Luke groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head.

"Luke...I'm sorry, I didn't see you down there," Natalia said.

"Nah, it's my fault for sleeping in the wrong spot," Luke replied. "So...how are you feeling?"

Relieved to see one of her companions with her, Natalia began to stretch her limbs. "Ah...I feel all right. I'm still kind of tired, though. What happened? The last thing I remember was that we were fighting that monster."

"Right...you collapsed in the middle of the battle," Luke told her. "We had a hell of a time getting away from that monster, too. If it weren't for Will and his friends, we would have been finished."

"I see..." Natalia looked down for a moment. "But where are the others?"

"They're still sleeping upstairs," Luke said.

"Ah...Will...thank you."

"It's not necessary," Will replied. "It's our duty to protect the citizens of the Legacy."

The room fell silent for a moment, until Will spoke again.

"So, now that you're awake, how about I fix some tea?"

"Sure...that sounds good," Natalia replied.

--

Back at Will's house, Harriet was humming to herself as she continued to fix the omelets. Suddenly, she heard a door creaking upstairs. She paused, listening for any further noises. Seconds later, she heard the blow dryer running.

_There's an intruder in the house?_ Harriet thought. _And they're using my hair dryer??_

Quietly, she went upstairs to the bathroom. There, she found Jade wearing a short, fuzzy white bath robe, blow drying his hair. Upon sensing the girl's presence, Jade shut off the blow dryer and turned to her.

"Yes?" he asked simply.

Harriet gasped as she ran back downstairs to the kitchen. Jade shrugged as he calmly closed the door.

"What is that man doing in this house!?" Harriet cried. "And why is he showing off his skinny legs!? He should wear a longer robe!"

Now Jade came downstairs, now wearing his normal uniform. "So, you must be Harriet."

"Who are you!?" Harriet asked. "What are you doing here!?"

"I'm Jade Curtiss. Your father has granted me the honor of staying here for the night. That's quite a warm welcome you're giving me."

"Hey, Dad didn't tell me that you were spending the night here. The nerve of that guy!"

"Yes, well, since I am a guest in your house, you should show some hospitality."

"Well, all right..." Harriet conceded. "I have some omelets cooking, so I'll have to throw in another one."

"Mmm, I can hardly wait." Jade walked over to the bookshelves, looking over all the book covers.

Harriet returned to the kitchen and scooped the omelet from the skillet into a white plate.

"Okay, breakfast is served!" she called out.

Jade sat at the table while Harriet set the omelet down in front of him.

"By the way, isn't Jade a girl's name?" she asked.

Jade eyed her. "Not necessarily." He chopped a piece of the omelet, popping it into his mouth. Afterwards, his face twisted into a horrible grimace.

"So what do you think?" Harriet asked, almost grinning. "Isn't it yummy?"

Instead of responding, Jade simply stood up. "Young lady...we need to talk."

--

While Will was having tea with Natalia and Luke, Norma came into the house.

"Oh look, Natalie's awake!" she called as she went to the table. "You sure know how to snooze."

"Oh...yes, I...I'm sorry to have worried you," Natalia said.

Will looked at the clock and jumped to his feet with a short gasp. "Uh-oh, I'm afraid I've stayed too long. Norma, feel free to tend to our guests. Show them around the city or something."

"Sure thing, Teach."

Will quickly left the house, leaving Norma alone with the guests.

"So, you wanna look around the city?" Norma asked.

"Hmm...maybe later," Luke said. "I'm gonna wait for the others to get up."

Natalia stood up. "I'll go after I finish my tea."

"Well, all right..." Norma pouted as she sat at the table.

"So you're...Norma, right?"

"That's right. Norma Beatty. And you're Natalie Picaso Musketeer, right?"

Natalia gave her an odd look. "No, I'm...just call me Natalia."

--

As Will came to his front yard, he found Harriet on the doorstep, pounding violently on the door.

"You'd better open this door, you hear me!?" she screamed.

Will approached the doorstep. "Harriet? What happened?"

"Dad, you won't believe this!" Harriet exclaimed. "That guy had the nerve to throw me out of my own house! And while I was cooking the omelets, I found him in the bathroom, blow drying his hair like he owns the place!"

Will gave an exasperated sigh. "All right, I'll have a word with him. Why don't you head over to Musette's for now?"

"All right...but you'd better bonk him good!" Harriet began to leave the yard.

Will sighed again as he knocked on the door. Seconds later, Jade opened from within.

"Oh, good morning, Will."

"I think we need to talk," Will said in a calm, angry tone.

"Sure thing. Come on in."

Will rolled his eyes at the thought of being invited into his own home. "So, you want to explain this to me?"

"By all means," Jade replied. "This morning I tried Harriet's omelet. It was _delicious_ – I took one bite and threw it out. And then I threw her out."

"I see...I'm going to do you a favor, because you're new here." With that, Will raised his fist, bonking Jade on the head.

"Ow...that smarts..." Jade grumbled. "Well, if you don't mind, I'll just gather my things and be on my way."

Picking up a white sack by the sofa, Jade calmly left the house. Will let out yet another sigh.

--

Harriet stormed into Musette's house. "Ooh, I'm so mad, I could spit!"

"What's the matter, Hattie?" Norma asked.

"This guy named Jade Curtiss spent the night at our house, and then he threw my out! Can you believe that!?"

Luke and Natalia exchanged glances.

"Why would he do that?" Natalia asked.

"Because he's Jade," Luke said.

"Wow...he's a cold-hearted snake, isn't he?" Norma asked.

"Yeah, definitely," Harriet agreed. "At least we finally agree on something."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Before Harriet could respond, Jade came into the house.

"Hey, Snake! Hiya!" Norma called cheerfully.

Jade paused and looked around. "Whom are you addressing?"

"I'm addressing you, Snake! You know, what you did to Hattie was really mean."

"Yeah, that's a perfect nickname for you," Harriet added.

"Well, I suppose you haven't had the misfortune of tasting Harriet's cooking," Jade said.

"Oh, so that's what it's all about?" Norma asked. "In that case, throwing Hattie out was a-okay."

"Norma!" Harriet snapped.

Norma quickly changed the subject. "So Natalie, are you ready to go?"

"Oh, sure." Natalia stood up. "Let's go."

She and Norma began to leave.

"I'm not staying anywhere near this meanie!" Harriet cried as she followed.

A moment of silence passed as Luke and Jade were left alone.

"So...who was that?" Luke asked.

"The little girl? That's Will's daughter," Jade told him.

"Oh...yeah, I remember Will mentioned having a daughter. Is her cooking really that bad?"

"It could poison a snake."

--

Natalia watched the sights and sounds of the city as Norma led her down the road. Then Norma stopped in front of a particular house.

"Here we go! Senny's house!"

"And what are we doing here?" Natalia asked.

"We have to wake up Senny every morning," Norma told her. "He's such a sleepyhead. So I want to see how well you can wake him up."

"Me?" Natalia gasped. "Why me?"

"Well, you're a princess, right? Go unleash your royal authority on him or something."

"But I...I was hoping to let go of my authority for a while..."

"No, you need the authority if you wanna wake Senny up," Norma told her. "So say something like, 'I'm a princess, and you will RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!!"

Natalia looked away. "I don't know..."

"Come on!" Norma prodded her. "This is your vacation, right? You're supposed to get into a little mischief."

Natalia pondered for a moment before finally conceding. "Well, all right."

"Great! I'll wait right here for you."

Natalia carefully went into the house and looked around. "What an unusual interior design..."

She slowly climbed up the steps and went to the bed, where Senel was sound asleep.

"Senny? Wake up..." Natalia called softly, gently shaking Senel's arm.

Senel didn't budge, but only began to talk in his sleep. "Sleeping Beauty...pricked finger...Snow White...poisoned apple..."

Natalia shrank back, trying to make sense of his words. "Senny, wake up!" she called more forcefully.

"Prince Charming...kiss me..."

Natalia shrank back again, this time in disgust. She went back downstairs, where she found a metal trash can with a single glass bottle inside. She picked up the trash can and went back to Senel's bed, pulling out the bottle with her other hand. Then she slammed the bottle into the can, causing a loud metallic crash.

"Ahh!" Senel sprang forward in the bed. After recovering from the shock, he threw his head into his hands, groaning. "Ugh..."

Natalia slammed the trash can down on the floor, causing another loud crash. Senel jumped to his feet and faced her, still opening his eyes.

"Oh, it's you..." he grumbled.

"What kind of talk is that?" Natalia scolded. "It sure took you long enough to wake up."

"Mmm...you're one to talk," Senel replied.

Natalia was thrown off guard. After all, it was yesterday when she had collapsed, and she had been out cold all through the night. "Oh...well, you do have a point..."

"So what is it? Why are you waking me up?"

"Well..." Natalia had to think about that question as well.

"Don't tell me you don't have a reason..."

"It was Norma's idea," Natalia told him.

Senel sighed. "Norma...that makes sense. She's always waking me up like this.

"Why?"

"Because she's Norma."

"Oh...well...I'm sorry for waking you, Senny. You can go back to sleep if you want."

"Now you're gonna call me Senny, too?"

"Well, that's what Norma called you. I thought it was your name."

"No...it's Senel. Senel Coolidge."

"Oh...I'm sorry, I didn't know. All right, Senel, I shall address you as such from now on."

"Thanks."

"By the way, I haven't even properly introduced myself. I'm Natalia."

"I know, your friends told us about you."

"Yeah, I assumed they had, but...it's only polite to introduce myself anyway."

"I see. So if it was Norma's idea for you to wake me up, then where is she?"

"She's waiting outside. At least, she said she was."

"Then let's go. I'm sure Norma has even more ideas..."

Senel and Natalia went down the stairs, leaving the house.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jade explored the northern side of Werites Beacon. As he spotted the bandits' camp in front of the lighthouse, curiosity got the better of him, and he went over to take a look.

"Hey!" Moses got up to greet him. "Didja come to see our camp?"

"This is your camp? In the middle of a city?" Jade asked. "Fascinating."

"Yeah, this camp is for me an' my boys. Every now and then, Jay camps here, too."

Upon hearing his name, Jay came out of Moses' tent and walked over to him. "Moses, you just can't tell the difference between a subject to talk about and a subject to keep to yourself, can you?"

"Ah, Jay, you're just the person I'm looking for," Jade said, holding out the white sack. "I want you to put this on."

Jay eyed him suspiciously as he took the sack. Reaching in, he pulled out a uniform identical to Jade's.

"You want me to wear this?" Jay asked in disbelief.

_Now I know why he measured my bodily dimensions,_ he thought.

"That's right," Jade replied.

Jay stuffed the clothes back into the sack and dropped it in front of him. "I refuse."

Jade stepped forward. "Now Jay, are you going to put on the uniform, or do I have to?"

Jay shrank back, as he certainly didn't want to be manually dressed by someone else. "Oh...f-fine!" he stammered.

Picking up the sack, he went back into Moses' tent. Seconds later, Csaba flew out of the tent, flying about twenty feet before crashing into the grass.

"Oww..." Csaba grumbled, picking himself up.

"Csaba! You okay?" Moses asked.

"I'm fine," Csaba replied. "But what's with Jay?"

"He needs to change clothes," Moses told him.

Csaba looked up at Jade. "Is this a new friend?"

"This is Jade Curtiss. Jade, this is my boy Csaba."

"Your 'boy'?" Jade asked. "You sure have a lot of boys here. Are you some kind of homosexual?"

"Well..." Moses scratched his head. He'd never thought about his sexuality, but he knew that he loved his bandit boys, and he loved Jay. Yet he struggled to think of a woman that he liked. But then the answer hit him. "Well, I like Grune's boobs."

"Ha...I see..." Jade chuckled.

Jay emerged from the tent, now clothed in Jade's uniform. He walked over to Moses and Jade, not even looking up at them. His face showed a great deal of discontent.

"Whoa, Jay...you look just like Jade!" Moses exclaimed.

"Not quite..." Jade said. "There should've been a pair of glasses in that bundle."

Jay reached into the sack and pulled out a pair of glasses. "You mean these? If I put these on, they'll ruin my eyesight."

"Those are fake glasses," Jade told him. "I just added them for looks. So put them on."

"Grrr..." Jay growled as he reluctantly put on the glasses.

"There. Now, let's go."

"What? Go where?"

Jade stopped. "Hmm, that's a good question. Moses, will you help me?"

"Sure," Moses said. "What'cha need?"

"You know more about the Legacy than I do. Are there any secluded forests around here?"

"There's the Forest of No Return," Moses said. "It's a natural maze, but I know it like the back of my hand. My boys and I used to live there, until the Terrors went and wrecked it."

"What a pity. Well, let's go there, shall we?"

"What...what are you...?" Jay stammered.

"Now, now, come along, little urchin," Jade told him.

"Damn it..." Jay growled under his breath as he reluctantly followed the Colonel down the path, along with the red-haired bandit.

--

After their walk around the city, Senel, Norma, and Natalia returned to Musette's house. There, they found the rest of both parties sitting at the table.

"Oh good, everyone's here," Senel said.

"Not quite," Norma said. "I don't see Red and JJ."

"I saw them leaving the city," Shirley said.

"Aww, are they getting their freak on again?"

"No...they were with Jade."

"Whoa...so Snake is gonna be a spectator!"

"All right, enough of that," Senel said. "Natalia, this is...almost everybody – Chloe, Shirley, Will, and Grune."

"It's nice to meet you all," Natalia said. "I'm sorry to have troubled you yesterday."

"It's a knight's duty to aid those in need," Chloe said. "You need not feel obliged."

Natalia looked at her. "A knight? Well, you certainly have the manner of a knight. I'm impressed."

"So what should we do today?" Norma asked. "We've already shown Natalie around the city."

"Well, we could show them the Quiet Lands," Shirley suggested.

"That's a good idea," Senel said.

"The 'Quiet Lands'?" Luke asked.

"It's so peaceful down there," Chloe told him. "It has the quietest sea that we've ever seen."

"Sounds good to me," Guy said.

"You're gonna love it!" Norma bragged. "It's got a sandy beach down there, we can play some volleyball..."

"Well, we didn't bring any bathing suits," Tear said.

"Don't worry; we can just buy some from the shop," Norma said.

"We didn't bring any money either," Natalia said.

The entire room stopped as Norma gave her an odd look. "You really are on vacation, aren't you?"

Natalia glared back at her. "Is that an insult?"

Norma batted her eyes. "N-No, of course not!"

Anise seized Natalia's arm. "You mean to tell me that we left home..._without money??_"

"Everyone, calm down," Will said. "We'll provide the bathing suits, and anything else you need during your stay here."

"Wow, thanks!" Luke said. "You guys are the best!"

"Then let's go! Charge!" Norma yelled.

"Charge!" Grune called in her offbeat cheerful voice.

Guy slowly turned around to see Grune standing behind him. "Gwaaaahh!!" He jumped away from her, then fled from the house.

Norma scratched her head. "Wow, he really is afraid of girls..."

Anise looked up at Grune. "I don't know, her knockers are kinda scary..."

Grune returned the look. "Oh, you poor thing, Anise..."

The door opened again, and Guy poked his head in. "So, are we leaving or not?"

"Yes," Will replied. "Let's go, everyone."

The group nodded in agreement as they left the house.

--

Right outside the Forest of No Return, Moses and Jade had positioned Jay in between two trees, chaining his arms to either one.

"Um...is this really necessary?" Jay asked.

"I hear that you're the tricky one, so we're just making sure that you stay put," Jade replied as he finished fastening Jay's arm to the tree. "Moses, are you ready?"

Moses fastened Jay's other arm to the other tree. "Yup, ready when you are."

When they backed off to admire their work, Jay tugged on the chains, but could not free himself. Jade pulled out two small CD cases.

"Now, these contain some very important data," he said, shoving them into Jay's pocket. "It simply won't do to lose them."

"Then why are you giving them to me?"

"Because I'm on vacation." Jade stuffed the cases into the pocket until they were out of sight, then stepped back again. "Hmm...something's still not right. Ah, I know..."

Stepping up to Jay again, Jade took down his ponytail, straightening out his hair. "There, now it's perfect."

Jay gave him an icy glare. "I don't like you."

"Well, that's too bad. Let's go, Moses."

"Wait!" Jay cried. "How long do you plan to leave me out here?"

"Oh, I'm sure someone will come to free you eventually..."

"You...you can't be serious..."

"Now, try not to pull a muscle, little urchin," Jade called as he began to leave, with Moses in tow.

"Don't hang out too long now," Moses added.

As they disappeared within the duct, Jay began to pull on his chains, becoming more upset by the minute. After a moment, he gave up.

_All right..._ he thought. _I officially hate that guy..._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The remainder of Senel's group headed to the beach in the Quiet Lands with Luke and company in tow. Everyone carried their beach gear, with chairs, towels, blankets, and coolers, and even a volleyball net.

"So what do you guys think?" Norma asked.

There was a momentary pause as Luke's group stared out into the silent sea.

"It's so quiet..." Natalia finally commented.

"Well, duh!" Norma bragged. "That's why we call it the Quiet Lands!"

"When we first discovered this place, we were amazed that there could be a sea this quiet," Will said.

"It is peaceful," Tear agreed. "Just looking at it makes me feel peaceful inside."

"Yeah, me too," Natalia added.

"Well, enough of that," Norma said out of nowhere. "Let's sit down and have lunch."

Senel shrugged. "Leave it to Norma to spoil the peace."

"Oh my, that sounds lovely," Grune said.

"Actually, I don't mind," Luke said. "I'm getting tired of hauling all this junk."

The group set up their chairs and unpacked their lunches. As they began to eat, they all became lost in thought, trying to think of a conversation.

"So Lukie, tell us about yourselves," Norma said.

_I can't believe she's actually calling me that,_ Luke thought bitterly.

Instead of responding, he merely exchanged a glance with Guy.

Norma frowned. "Okay, don't tell us about yourselves..."

"I'm curious about your special abilities," Will said. "What is the source of your power?"

"We use fonic artes," Tear said.

"I see."

"Our special abilities are called eres," Chloe said. "There are two types: iron eres for fighting, and crystal eres for magic spells."

"It's amazing how our powers are similar and yet have different sources," Will said.

"So we hear that you're the guardians of the Legacy," Anise said. "What do you guard it from?"

"We just make sure the Legacy's power doesn't end up in the wrong hands," Senel said.

"Or anyone's hands, for that matter," Shirley added. "The Nerifes Cannon should never be meddled with at all."

"Since when does a cruise ship have cannons?" Anise asked.

Senel raised an eye at her. "Since when did you think this was a cruise ship?"

"That's what the Colonel told us."

"To tell the truth, the Legacy is anything but a cruise ship," Will said. "It's like a whole new world of its own. I've lived on the Legacy for over ten years, and I'm still making new discoveries."

Luke shook his head. "I swear, I don't know where Jade gets his information. According to him, this was supposedly the most luxurious cruise ship in the world. That's the only reason we chose this place for our vacation. Now you're telling us that this ship has ruins and monsters...and a cannon?"

"Oh yes, the Legacy is an exciting place," Grune said.

"And yet the people in Werites Beacon live there as if it were perfectly normal," Natalia said.

"Yes, it's rare for the city to suffer a monster attack," Will told her.

"That's another part of our job, keeping the city safe from monsters," Senel added.

"Yeah, life is kind of like that back home, too," Luke said. "Occasionally we get called to defeat monsters."

"And there are other...bad people...to protect the world from," Guy said.

"Yeah, we've got bad guys here, too," Norma said. "Vaclav...the Terrors...So-So..."

"So-So?" Anise asked. "What kind of a name is that?"

"That's Norma's nickname for Solon," Senel told her. "You're lucky you don't have to deal with him..."

Norma grinned. "Oh well. Enough chatter about the bad guys. Let's eat!"

Senel pointed a thumb at her. "Whoa, mood change."

--

Meanwhile, Jade and Moses returned to Werites Beacon, heading straight for the bandits' camp.

"So...what's gonna happen to Jay out there?" Moses asked.

"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing he can't handle," Jade replied. "Now, where might the others be?"

"Csaba!" Moses called out. "Didja see where the others went?"

Csaba went up to the red-haired bandit. "Yeah, I saw them heading into the Lighthouse."

"They must be in the Quiet Lands," Moses said.

"Quiet Lands? Fascinating..." Jade stroked his chin.

Moses grinned his silly grin. "Well, let's go join 'em!"

Jade gave a mock bow. "Please lead the way, Moses."

Moses led the way, walking into the Lighthouse and taking the elevator down to the Quiet Lands. When they got to the beach, they found most of the group relaxing in their beach chairs, while Tear and Natalia were setting up the volleyball net.

"Ooh, Red and Snake are back!" Norma called. "Hey, where's JJ?"

Jade straightened his glasses. "Oh, he got a little tied up at the Forest of No Return. No need to worry."

Tear and Natalia finished setting up the net, making sure that the poles were firmly in the ground.

"That should do it," Tear said. "Are you ready?"

Natalia looked up at her with a smile before standing up and calling out to the others. "Tear and I take on all comers!"

Norma perked up. "Ooh, ooh! C, let's go kick some ass!"

Chloe sat up. "What?"

"Come on!" Grabbing Chloe's wrist, Norma dragged her over to the volleyball net.

"All right, we're just in time!" Moses called. "Let's have some fun in the sun before the day is done! Bring it on!"

"Oh my!" Grune gushed. "I'll be the cheerleader!"

"You know what?" Anise asked. "I think I'll be a cheerleader, too! Hey Guy, why don't you come cheer with us? It might help you overcome your phobia!"

"What the hell?" Guy responded. "Uh...no thanks, I'll pass..."

"So Guy...why are you afraid of girls?" Senel asked.

"I, uh...it's a long story," Guy told him. "I don't really want to talk about it..."

Senel shrugged. "Oh well..."

Natalia made her first serve with the volleyball. The four girls bounced it back and forth over the net while the others watched intently. Seeing an opportunity, Chloe jumped right in front of the net and slammed the volleyball downwards. Tear and Natalia both made a dive for it, but only fell flat into the sand as the ball bounced in between them.

"Whoo!!" Moses called. "Score one for Bubbles and Chloe!"

"Yaaay!!" Anise and Grune cheered.

"That was pretty good," Senel said.

Jade took a seat in one of the empty chairs and stretched out. "Ahh...now this is what I call a vacation..."

--

Meanwhile, Jay still stood outside the Forest of No Return, his arms still chained to the trees on either side of him. His predicament seemed hopeless. His weapons were still in his old clothes, he lacked the brute strength to break the chains, and he had no means to call for help. So he just stood, wondering why Jade would have him guard some discs while making him helpless.

Since Jay had nothing better to do, he resorted to tapping his heels together.

"There's no place like home..." he muttered. "There's no place like home..."

He then let out a long, exasperated sigh.

"Ah hah hah hah hah!!" A maniacal laugh suddenly filled the air above him.

Startled, Jay looked up at the owner of the voice; a man sitting in what looked like a floating office chair. He wore a black jacket with pink strips emerging from the collar, and purple pants. He had white hair that was combed on one side of his face, and he wore thick white glasses. But his most distinctive feature was his grin...a wide grin that can only be described as twisted or insane.

_Great...this is the __**last**__ thing I need..._ Jay thought, intimidated by the man's insane grin. _Not another Solon..._

"I've finally found you, Jade!" the man grinned. "Did you think you would escape me by coming to the Legacy? I told you that I would always find you, no matter where you may run!"

As he lowered the chair towards the ground, Jay absent-mindedly stepped back, although he was still held in place by the chains that bound him to the trees. "Wh...who the hell are you!?"

"Grrr...you..." the man growled. "How dare you forget your old friend, the one and only Dist the Rose!"

"Dist the Rose? I've never seen you before."

"Don't try to fool me, Jade! I know my old friend when I see him!"

Jay paused. _He really thinks I'm...so __**that's**__ why Jade put me out here. I swear I'll get him for that..._

"You think that's Jade? You've got to be joking!"

A tall, slim boy with green hair walked over to Jay, standing only inches in front of him. The boy had eyes of pure hatred and anger. Jay could only look up at him, paralyzed with both fear and humiliation.

"I...I'm not Jade..." he muttered.

"I told you, Sync!" Dist growled. "Finding Jade on the Legacy would be no trouble at all. See, he even gift-wrapped himself for me."

"If you'd use those glasses of yours, you can see that this is not Jade!" Sync snapped. "Just look at him; his eyes are too big, his hair is too fine, his skin is too pale. He's not Jade."

"Well, at least _you_ have some intelligence..." Jay remarked.

Dist shook angrily in his chair. "Grrr...why you little...you little..."

Sync turned back to Jay. "Who are you!?" he hissed harshly.

Jay was startled again, but he held his ground. "My name is _Jay_! J-A-Y! Jay!"

"Grrr!" Dist growled yet again. "You stay right there! Don't you dare move! I'll be back to deal with you!"

He quickly flew away in his chair.

"Hey! Come back here!" Sync called as he started to run after it. "I'll make you pay for making me come out here, goddammit!!"

Jay let out yet another sigh, relieved that the shady characters were gone, but disappointed that he was still stuck in this predicament...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Norma served the volleyball for the next round of play. Tear, Natalia, and Chloe knocked the ball back and forth over the net. Leaping into the air, Natalia hit the ball over the net towards the ground. Norma made a dive for it, but the ball bounced on the ground in front of her.

"Ack!" she cried out as she fell into the sand.

"Yes!" Tear and Natalia high-fived each other.

"All right!" Moses called. "Tear and Natalia are makin' a comeback with that shot!"

"Rah, rah, sisfumbah!" Anise cheered.

"Hmm? What does 'sisfumbah' mean?" Grune asked.

"It doesn't mean anything," Anise told her. "It's just a word."

"Then why say it?"

"All right, everyone," Natalia said. "Could we take a break? I'm getting tired again."

"Yes, that would be best," Tear agreed.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want you to collapse again," Norma added.

"I'm not going to collapse again!" Natalia insisted.

"Norma, please," Tear said. "Natalia came here to rest herself, not to exert herself in sports."

"Oh, fine..." Norma conceded. "But we'll finish this later!"

Meanwhile, Shirley had something different on her mind. Something about what Jade had said left her a little uneasy. "Um...excuse me, Guy..."

"Ahh!" Guy jumped back, once again cowering in fear.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to startle you..." Shirley said nervously. "I just wanted to ask you something."

Guy straightened himself, his body still trembling. "S-Sure...wh-what can I do for you...?"

"It's about what Jade said earlier...about Jay being 'tied up' at the Forest of No Return. Do you think he meant...?"

"Oh...yeah, he was probably being literal. He's like that."

Shirley frowned. "I see..."

"Now...if you'll excuse me..." Guy quickly ran across the sand to create some distance. "Whew..."

Will walked up to Shirley, standing behind her. "Hmm..."

"Hmm?" Shirley looked back at him. "Oh, Will. I'm...I'm going to find Jay."

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," Will said. "In fact, I'll go with you."

As the pair began to leave the beach, Jade stepped in front of him.

"Will...if you're going to find the urchin, you might want to give this to him," he said as he handed the brown sack to Shirley.

"What's this?" Shirley asked as she reached in, pulling out Jay's normal clothes. "These...these are Jay's clothes! What have you done to him!?"

"Oh, you'll find out when you see him," Jade told her.

Will and Shirley exchanged a curious look.

"We'd better hurry," Will said as he resumed his walk.

"Right," Shirley said as she followed.

--

Dist and Sync wandered along the Bridge Plain, looking up at the towering skyscraper ahead.

"Would you look at that, Sync?" Dist asked. "What do you suppose that could be?"

"Beats me," Sync replied. "And I don't give a damn either."

"I think we might find some authority here," Dist continued. "They could help us find our target."

"Whatever. Let's just get this over with."

"Oh, quit being such a sour puss and follow me!"

--

"Commander! We've got two intruders entering the bridge!" a male soldier called out.

"Hmm?" Vaclav and the Terrors looked into the video monitor to see Dist and Sync wandering through the hallways.

"What's going on?" Cashel growled. "Who are those people?"

"They don't appear to be from the Legacy," Melanie said. "They certainly don't look like your average citizens."

"I can sense their aura," Solon grinned. "It's...intriguing. They have something sinister in mind, I can just feel it."

"Then we must find out what they're up to," Vaclav said.

"Leave that to me. I shall go and greet our guests." Solon grinned again as he vanished in a puff of smoke.

--

Dist and Sync came to a sudden halt as Solon appeared in front of them. Sync jumped back, instantly assuming his battle stance.

"Who the hell are you!?" he demanded.

"Me? I am Solon. And you are?"

"I'm glad you asked," Dist grinned. "Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am the most graceful member of the six God-Generals. The intelligent and beautiful Dist the Rose!"

Solon raised an eye. "Dist the Rose?"

"Don't listen to him," Sync said. "His real name is Dist the Reaper."

"Silence!" Dist snapped. "I refuse to be called by that name!"

"Dist the Reaper..." Solon pondered. "I like that one better. Now, what brings you here today?"

Dist cleared his throat. "Oh yes, down to business. We were looking for a man named Jade."

"Jade? I'm sorry, I don't know anyone by that name. However, I might be able to help you find him...if you help me in return."

"So we have a deal? Very well."

"Excellent!" Solon grinned. "Follow me to the control room, and I'll explain the details there."

Dist and Sync followed him all the way to the control room.

"Commander Vaclav!" Solon called. "Meet Dist the Reaper and—"

"The Rose!" Dist interrupted. "R-O-S-E, Rose! Dist the Rose!"

"Whatever!" Solon said as he gestured to Sync. "And?"

"Sync the Tempest. Happy now?"

"Yes, quite."

"And what are they doing here?" Vaclav asked.

"Now, that's not very nice!" Dist scolded.

"They were just looking for someone," Solon explained. "I told them that we could help them if they would help us. Now, for my little favor."

He walked across the room to the computer terminal and pressed a combination of buttons, bringing up an image of Jay on the video monitor.

"This is my dear apprentice, Jay. I so desire for him to live with me again. So if you can find him and bring him to me, I would greatly appreciate it."

"Such a selfish request..." Vaclav grumbled. "I would prefer something more practical, such as _eliminating Senel and his group_!"

"Calm down, Commander," Solon told him. "Once I have Jay, the others will no doubt come to rescue him. With the help of Dist and Sync, we can eliminate them then. Sound fair? However..."

"I know – you want Jay alive."

"Precisely."

"Jay!?" Sync burst out. "That's the little punk we found outside that forest!"

"What!? Don't be absurd!" Dist growled. "What makes you so certain!?"

"Just look at him! He has the same eyes, the same skin, the same hair! That's him, no doubt about it!"

"So, do I have your word?" Solon asked, cutting the argument short.

"Of course," Dist replied. "Consider it done."

--

Jay was becoming ever more desperate to get out of his current situation. With the recent appearance of Sync and Dist, he had the feeling that something bad was going to happen. He had to escape before it happened. So he jerked on the chains as hard as he could, pausing to catch his breath.

Just then, the nearby duct opened up, and Will and Shirley stepped out. "Jay!"

"Over here!" Jay called out. "Help me!"

Will and Shirley quickly ran over to him and began to undo the chains.

"What happened?" Will asked as they finally freed Jay.

"Jade and Moses left me out here..." Jay said. "And then I met a couple of shady characters."

"Shady characters?" Shirley asked.

"Yes. I can tell that they're up to no good."

"Hmm...I wonder if Luke's group knows something about them," Will pondered.

"Damn right they do," Jay told him. "One of them was specifically looking for Jade. Which is why he and Moses put me out here in the first place, to use me as a decoy. But I cannot fathom why they would conspire to humiliate me like this!"

Before the discussion could continue, the three Scallop Brothers emerged from the duct and joined the group. "Jay!"

"Quppo? What is it?" Jay asked.

"Jay? Why are you dressed like that?" Quppo asked.

Jay looked down, realizing that he was still wearing the Malkuth colonel's uniform. "Um..."

"Oh, here!" Shirley said, handing him the brown sack. "We brought your old clothes."

"Yes, thank you." Jay held out his index finger, twirling it in circles. Everyone got the message and promptly turned their backs to him. Jay quickly changed back into his purple outfit, and put his hair back in the normal side ponytail.

"All right," he said, getting everyone's attention. "Quppo, did you have a report?"

"Ors, yes," Quppo said. "We've spotted a strange aircraft in the sky. It doesn't look like anything that came from the Legacy."

"Look, there it is!" Poppo called, pointing up at the sky. "Ors!"

Looking up, they spotted something in the air, resembling a large blimp with wings.

"Oh Nerifes...what is that!?" Shirley gasped.

"I've never seen anything like it..." Will said.

"I have a feeling that it belongs to those shady people," Jay said.

The aircraft seem to hover over them, several thousand feet into the air.

"What a beautiful aircraft..." Poppo muttered. "I wonder if I can build something like that? Ors..."

"What should we do?" Shirley asked.

"There's nothing we can do," Will said. "We don't know anything about it. It might just be passing by."

"Jay, watch out!" Quppo cried. "Ors!"

Jay looked down to see a long, silver tentacle hovering around his neck. "What the...?" he gasped as he quickly moved out of the way.

The group stared at the silver tentacle, which curved upwards, moving in front of them like a snake.

"It seems to be coming from that thing," Shirley said.

"Which means it's definitely not just passing by," Jay added.

"Everyone, into the forest!" Will called. "Quickly!"

"Ors, ors!" the Oresoren cried as the group ran into the forest. The group split up, running around different trees, hoping to tangle up the tentacle, before assembling in a clearing.

"There it is again!" Shirley cried.

"I'll take care of it," Jay said, pulling out his dagger.

Lunging forward, he swiped the dagger at the tentacle at different strokes and angles. However, the tentacle deftly dodged every strike. Jay backed off, still pointing his dagger at it. The tentacle slowly moved towards the group, a small red light glowing at the tip.

Inside the aircraft, Dist watched the group through the video monitor, displaying the tentacle's perspective.

"That's right, you ignorant savages..." he grinned. "Cower in fear of my glorious creation! And now to put an end to this game!"

The tentacle shot forward, wrapping itself around Jay's leg and pulled him to the ground, and then began to drag him across the forest.

"Jay!!" Will and Shirley immediately ran after him.

"Argh!!" Jay cried out, digging his fingers into the ground as he was dragged along, hoping to grab something that was secured. So far, he was having little luck. Luckily, Will managed to catch up, as he dove forward, grabbing Jay's wrists as he crashed onto the ground. His body weight was enough to stop the tentacle, if only for a moment.

"Grrr!!" Dist growled, mashing the buttons on the control terminal. "Get off, you!"

"Shirley!" Will called out in a strained voice.

"Hold on!" Shirley replied as she knelt down beside Jay, trying to unwrap the tentacle from his legs.

"Grrr...going to be stubborn, are we?" Dist snarled again. "Well then, I suppose I'll have to take all of you at once!"

The tentacle came down a little farther, wrapping itself once around Shirley's body.

"Ahh!" Shirley screamed as she fell forward on top of Jay's body.

"Damn..." Will got up to help Shirley, but the tentacle came down farther still, wrapping around his body as well. "Gah...this is not good..."

Jay turned his head back, as he was still on his stomach, not quite able to see what was happening. "What...what are you doing!?"

Suddenly, the tentacle yanked all three of them off the ground, up through the trees, towards the strange aircraft in the sky.

"Ors!" The Oresoren watched helplessly, listening to their screams as they were pulled out of sight.

"Come back, Jay!" Poppo cried.

"What are we gonna do??" Pippo asked in a panic.

"Let's find out where that thing is taking them, and then we'll go tell Senel," Quppo suggested.

"Ors, ors!" the Oresoren nodded in agreement before leaving the forest.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Will found himself in a pitch black room. The tentacle around his waist had loosened after being pulled into the aircraft, so he pulled it off over his head

Shirley! Jay!" he called out. "Are you two all right?"

"I'm here..." Shirley replied, also wiggling her way out of the tentacles.

"Me, too..." Jay said bitterly, untangling the tentacle from his legs.

"Oh...where are we?" Shirley asked. "I can't see a thing!"

"Ah hah hah!!" A maniacal laugh filled the room, seemingly coming from nowhere.

"Who's that?" Will asked.

"That laugh!" Jay gasped. "That can only be..."

Suddenly, the lights came on, nearly blinding the trio for a few seconds. Then they spotted Dist sitting in his chair at the edge of the room, drumming his fingers.

"You again!?" Jay growled.

"I told you I'd be back to deal with you," Dist said. "Though the circimstances are different from what I had planned."

"You know each other?" Will asked.

"He's one of the shady characters I mentioned earlier," Jay told him.

"Shady? Why, I never! Oh well, first things first..." Dist suddenly flew forward in his chair, grabbing Jay by the jacket, then flew up towards the ceiling.

"Ah!" Will and Shirley gasped as they watched, unable to do anything.

"You little imposter!" Dist growled. "How dare you pretend to be Jade! You don't look anything like him!"

"What? But..." Jay began to protest.

Dist then threw him forward. Jay hit the wall before falling to the floor roughly. Will and Shirley quickly rushed to his side.

"Are you okay?" Shirley asked.

"I'm just not having a good day..." Jay grumbled.

Will stood up to address Dist. "Just who are you?"

"He calls himself 'Dist the Rose,'" Jay said.

"Ah hah hah!" Dist let out his maniacal laugh. "So you remember my beautiful name! Well done!"

The group gave him an odd look.

"Now, what do you want from us?" Will asked.

"Oh, I'm just fulfilling my end of the bargain, that's all," Dist replied. "It's nothing to worry about."

"Then...could you please let us out of here now?" Shirley asked.

"I'm afraid that's impossible, my sweet. You see, my new friend has plans for the star-spangled urchin. It's a shame; the two of you could have been spared if you hadn't been so meddlesome."

"Um..." Shirley stepped back in defeat.

"Enough with the urchin crap!" Jay exploded.

"Jay, by definition, an urchin is a mischievous boy," Will said. "So technically, you are an urchin."

"I don't care! I hate that term!"

"Enough of this!" Dist snapped as he held out a long chair with several shackles attached. "Now, please slip into these, will you?"

The group paused, studying their situation. Trapped in some strange structure thousands of feet into the air, they had no other choice but to comply...

--

The Oresoren frantically searching Werites Beacon, eventually finding the rest of the party in the Quiet Lands.

"Senel!" Quppo called.

"Oh!" Tear looked down at the little otters with a sweet smile as they stopped to catch their breath.

"Quppo, what's wrong?" Senel asked.

"Jay, Will, and Shirley were taken captive!"

"What!?"

"They were taken to the bridge," Poppo said.

"Well, we'd better get going then." Senel started to leave, but paused and faced Luke's group. "I guess you guys can wait here, or..."

"No, we'll go with you," Luke said.

"What? Are you sure?"

"Sure," Guy said. "You helped us out before."

"So we're going to return the favor," Anise said.

"I'll go as well," Jade said. "I believe this is partially my fault."

"What's this?" Norma gasped. "Is Snake actually being _nice_??"

"If your friends are being held captive, then they must be rescued," Natalia declared.

Tear continued to stare dreamily at the Oresoren. "They're so cute..."

"Tear?" Anise called.

"Oh!" Tear cleared her throat. "I mean, yes, let's go rescue your friends."

"By the way, Natalie," Norma said. "You still haven't met JJ, have you?"

"Oh...no, I haven't," Natalia replied as the revelation hit her. "What kind of person is he?"

"He's very distinctive; you'll know when you see him. He might be an obnoxious brat at first, but he's not so bad once you get to know him."

"All right, is everyone ready?" Senel called.

"Ready," the others nodded.

"All together now!" Norma called. "One, two, three..."

"Charge!" Moses and Grune were the only ones who joined her.

"Oh come on, show some enthusiasm!" Norma whined. "We're going to rescue our friends here!"

Chloe shrugged. "I guess this is one of those times."

"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt," Natalia agreed.

"All right, one more time!" Norma called. "One, two, three..."

"Charge!!" This time, everyone joined in.

"Now that's more like it!" Norma cheered. "Onward!"

--

Meanwhile, Dist brought his captives to the control room of the bridge. He held the long chain, while Jay, Will, and Shirley were bound in the shackles attached to it.

"Special delivery!" Dist sang. "I brought a few extra packages; I hope you don't mind."

The Terrors turned to face him.

"He's captured Raynard and the Merines..." Cashel said, a little awed. "He can't be that bad after all."

"Don't tell me that you actually doubted the ingenius and beautiful Dist the Rose!"

"Him, beautiful?" Jay whispered. "I thought he was part of the garbage."

Will and Shirley kept a laugh in.

Dist spun around in his chair to face them. "What did you say!?"

"Oh, we weren't talking about you," Jay lied.

"Hmph..." Dist turned to address the Terrors again. "Now, when do we find Jade?"

"Commander..." Solon said. "Dist has fulfilled his part of our deal. Would you mind helping to search for this person? I have matters to attend to with my apprentice."

"Very well," Vaclav replied. "A deal is a deal."

Solon snapped his fingers, summoning a team of ninjas, who appeared throughout the room.

"Take the apprentice away!" he ordered.

The ninjas took Jay out of the shackles, and he immediately began to struggle. He broke free of their grip, then gave the first ninja a hard punch to the face, and then gave the second ninja a fierce kick to the chest. Solon moved in, connecting a brutal punch to Jay's face, knocking him to the floor. Afterwards, Solon began to cringe in pain.

"Argh! That hurt my fist, you little brat!"

The ninjas pulled Jay to his feet, holding him roughly by the arms.

"If it hurts so much, then stop hitting me!" Jay snapped.

"Grr!" Solon punched him yet again, causing another surge of pain in his arm. "Get him out of here! I'll be there shortly to deliver my proposition."

"Yes, sir!" the ninjas responded in a monotone before disappearing with Jay.

Solon continued to hold his aching wrist. "Impudent little brat..."

Will and Shirley gave him a nervous, silent look.

"So, Commander..." Dist said. "What should we do with the other two?"

Will and Shirley felt a cold chill in their spines.

"I'd like to eliminate them as soon as possible," Vaclav replied. "But I'd also like to see if we can sap their power."

"Just leave that to me," Dist grinned. "I have something that might do the trick."

Will and Shirley swallowed hard...

--

The ninjas appeared in another room of the bridge, still restraining the struggling Jay. In an attempt to stop his struggles, they kicked the back of his knees. Jay stopped as he fell to his knees, and the ninjas put a dagger to his throat. Jay looked up at them, breathing heavily.

A few seconds later, Solon appeared behind them. Sensing his arrival, Jay got back to his feet, resuming his struggles. Solon walked up to him, whacking the back of his head with his open hand.

"Hold still!" he ordered.

"Ah!" Jay stopped to catch his breath again.

Solon now moved to Jay's side, hooking an earpiece with a microphone to his ear.

"What are you doing!?" Jay exclaimed.

"You'll see," Solon replied with a smile.

After fastening the earpiece, Solon went over to the computer terminal, giving a nod, and the ninjas shoved Jay forward. Right when Jay hit the floor, Solon pressed a button on the terminal, instantly encasing Jay in a clear fiberglass that extended from the floor all the way to the ceiling.

"What!?" Jay jumped to his feet, punching and kicking the glass, but it was no use.

Meanwhile, Solon fixed an earpiece onto his own ear. "Can you hear me, Jay?"

Jay paused as he realized that he was hearing the voice only through the earpiece. _This is...soundproof glass??_

"Yes, I can hear you," he responded bitterly.

"Good. Now, I'm sure you know what I want from you, right?"

"I can only guess..."

"I want you to join me, that's all. Leave those friends of yours and return to your loving master."

"I...I think not."

"And why not, hmm?"

"Because I'm happy with them. I'm happier with them than I ever was with you."

"I highly recommend that you rejoin me, Jay."

"I don't care what you recommend! The answer is no!"

Solon shook his head. "Fine. You leave me with no choice then."

He looked up at the ceiling, prompting Jay to look up as well. The boy gasped when he saw three rings of orbs in the ceiling. The outermost and innermost orbs were blue, but the middle orbs were yellow.

"What...what is this?" Jay asked.

"Just a little something I put together," Solon said. "After all, you know what happens when you disobey your master."

"You're not my master anymore," Jay spat. "You can't control me anymore."

"Now, Jay, there's no reason to be that way. I took you in and raised you when I could have left you to die. No matter what you do, no matter how much time passes, that fact will never change. Therefore, you should be devoting your entire life to me."

"N-no! I won't let you trick me anymore!"

"I'm not tricking you, Jay. I'm only telling the truth. Now, join me, or I will activate this chamber."

"But what is it!?" Jay asked, a little more desperate.

"Oh, I might as well tell you. Do you see the blue orbs up there. When I activate it, they will release their energy, causing you a great deal of pain. And the yellow orbs will restore whatever damage to your body the blue orbs have done."

"And what's the point of that?"

"When you add it together, the blue orbs will cause you a great deal of pain, while the yellow orbs will function to keep you alive. You will not even be afforded the luxury of death or unconsciousness. All you will feel is the pain, which will never stop. To be honest, I've never done anything this wretched to a living being before." Solon's grin widened. "But I am so looking forward to it."

"You..." Jay was becoming a little intimidated, but he couldn't let it show. "You can't intimidate me!"

"Oh, but you look so scared right now," Solon grinned. "Perhaps a little taste will persuade you to change your mind."

He went to the computer terminal and pressed a button. The blue orbs began to glow; Jay arched backwards, screaming in pain. When the device stopped, Jay hunched over, looking up raggedly.

"Wh...what the hell are you doing!?"

"Interesting..." Solon mused. "I'll ask you one more time, Jay. Will you join me?"

"N-no!" Jay responded. "I told you, I won't listen to you anymore!"

"Well then, I'll just have to keep this up, won't I? I really don't mind myself. Go ahead and resist as long as you like. The longer you resist, the longer I'll savor your suffering. And do you know what the best part is?"

"Wh...what?"

Solon grinned again. "The best part is that I'm the only one who will hear your screams. And I'll enjoy each and every scream that you emit. Heh heh..."

He pressed the button again, reactivating the device. This time, Jay dropped straight to the floor, screaming in pure agony. He twisted and contorted into horrible positions as Solon watched in pure ecstasy.

Solon began to walk slowly around the fiberglass, never taking his eyes off the apprentice. "You know, I can only imagine what you're feeling right now."

He spoke to Jay, but it seemed like a futile effort, as Jay was in far too much agony to pay attention, and his screams nearly drowned out Solon's words. Nevertheless, Solon continued.

"Millions upon millions of pain receptors, all firing at once. At every point in your body, you're feeling the worst pain you could ever possibly feel. It must be an incredible sensation."

"Aaaarrrgh!!" Jay rolled onto his stomach, burying his face into the floor, trying to hold in his screams.

"I'll leave the communication channel open should you change your mind," Solon told him. "Call out to me when you're ready to give in, and I'll go ahead and shut this off for you. But take your time if you must. If you give in, you will be mine forever. But the longer you resist, the longer I will enjoy your screams. So do what you can to extend the fun, will you?"

As Solon turned to leave the room, he gave Jay one final taunt. "Either way, I win."

Once Solon was gone, Jay managed to pull the earpiece from his ear and threw it to the side. "Argh!! D...Damn you!! I don't...I don't want to listen to you!!"

He curled into the fetal position to try to endure the persevering pain.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The remainder of Senel's group, along with Luke's group, stood outside the Legacy's bridge.

"This is the bridge of the Legacy," Senel explained. "According to the Oresoren, this is where Will, Jay, and Shirley were taken."

"So this is the place where you can control the ship?" Anise asked.

"It used to be," Senel said. "Until Vaclav resurfaced the bridge, only the Merines could control the ship. But after we beat Vaclav, the Ferines set it up so that he can't control it anymore."

"You know, I really don't get all this 'Merines and Ferines' stuff," Luke said.

"Well then, we'd best do our research, shouldn't we?" Jade said.

"Yeah, we need to get moving," Senel said. "There are too many of us to sneak in, so we'll have to rush in and meet them head on."

The others nodded in agreement, then proceeded to sprint into the bridge.

----------------

"Sir, we have intruders entering the bridge," a soldier announced in the control room.

Solon grinned. "No doubt it's Senel and his band of fools."

"Yes, sir...but they have some strangers with them."

"What!?" Dist flew over to the video monitor to take a look. Sure enough, he spotted Senel's group and Luke's group running down the corridor. More importantly, he saw the man he had been searching for.

"Jade...." Dist clenched his fists, his entire body trembling with rage.

"What's with you and this Jade person anyway?" Cashel asked.

"That beastly Jade was one of my closest friends," Dist replied. "And then....he betrayed me! That cowardly snake..."

Meanwhile, Will and Shirley were strapped down to two chairs back to back, with a helmet strapped to their heads. The helmets were connected to the chairs with various colored wires.

"So Jade was involved with him in the past?" Shirley asked softly.

"Apparently so," Will replied. "It would certainly explain a few things about him..."

"Yeah..."

"Hey!" Dist flew over to them in his chair. "Quiet, you! No scheming!"

Will and Shirley gave him an odd look.

"We're not scheming..." Shirley said, before smiling. "We're just sitting here comfortably, because we know that our friends are on their way to rescue us."

Dist quietly moved backwards to where Solon was standing. "'Our friends will rescue us,' she says," he mocked as he and Solon burst out with riotous laughter.

Will and Shirley now gave them a wide-eyed stare.

"Ugh!" Jay's voice sounded through Solon's earpiece.

"Hmm? What is it, Jay?" Solon asked. "Are you ready to give in yet?"

"N...No...!!" Jay screamed in agony.

"Fine..." Solon growled. "Then go ahead and SUFFER!!"

Will and Shirley continued to stare at him.

"Is he talking to Jay?" Shirley asked.

"Through that earpiece," Will told her.

"What are you doing to him!?" Shirley cried.

Solon grinned. "Oh, you don't want to know. However, perhaps I should let you hear his cries for yourself."

Walking over to Shirley, Solon pulled off his earpiece and put it to her ear. Shirley gasped upon hearing Jay's painful cries.

"Jay! Can you hear me?" Shirley asked.

"Shirley..." Jay muttered, his voice severely strained. "H....Help...me..."

"Jay, hold on! The others are coming!" Shirley assured him. "We'll find you and get you out of there, I promise!"

Solon pulled the earpiece away. "That's enough of that. There's no need to get his hopes up."

Shirley looked at him in disbelief. "Y...you...."

Solon then began to ponder. "On second thought, that might not be a bad idea after all. Let him think that he's going to be rescued, and then....heh heh...."

Without finishing the thought, Solon disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Wait!" Shirley protested, although it was too late. "Will, what do we do?"

"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do until the others get here," Will replied.

"Oh...I was hoping you had an idea."

"I'm sorry, I don't...."

Dist rubbed his hands together. "Well then, it's time we got started with these two..."

Will and Shirley gasped. "Uh-oh..."

At that moment, the door slid open, and the two parties burst into the room.

"Hurry!" Norma called. "Somebody say the opening line, quick!"

"Hmm..." Grune began to ponder. "I know...how about a song?"

The others raised an eye at her. "A song??" they asked in unison.

Norma's eyes lit up. "Yeah, a song! Are ya ready? One, two, three!"

She then began the song. "The boys are here, we found 'em at last; let's hurry up and kick their ass!"

Moses sang the next line. "We waited so long for this day to come; let's take it slow and have some fun!"

Now both Norma and Moses sang, "Get ready, get ready, get ready, get ready, oh yeeeeaaaahhh!!"

The entire room fell into a deafening silence for a moment.

"Moving on...." Jade said as he stepped forward, straightening his glasses. "I hereby place you all under arrest for kidnapping."

"Ooh, good one, Snake," Norma gushed.

"Jade!" Dist growled as he flew to the front to face the group.

"Well, well, Dist the Runny..." Jade replied. "Funny seeing you in these parts."

"What the hell is he doing here!?" Luke growled softly.

"It's Rose, damn it!" Dist growled. "How many times do I have to tell you!?"

"And how many times do _we_ have to tell you that _your_ name is Dist the Reaper!?" Anise responded.

"Oh, come on, Dolly," Norma said. "If he wants to be a Rose, let him be a Rose."

"Yes, yes!" Dist cried, almost excited. "At last, someone understands!"

Norma smiled at him. "Okay, Rose, what brings you to the Legacy?"

"I came here to find..._you_!" Dist pointed a finger at Jade. "Yes, _you_! _You_, you're mine! You ran away from me! You won't run away from me anymore!"

"And I came here to get away from you," Jade told him. "Why can't you tell when you're not wanted?"

"Enough of this!" Dist snapped. "Now hand over the fon disc data!"

"Hmm? Didn't you get it from Jay?"

"What?"

"You know, the little urchin I put out by the forest. I practically gift-wrapped him for you, and you didn't even get the data from him? Whatever am I going to do with you, Dist?"

"All right, that's quite enough chatting," Will called nervously. "This battle isn't going to fight itself."

Norma gasped. "You're right, Teach! All right, let's get 'em! Yaaahh!"

With her yell, she leaped across the room, clinging onto the back of Dist's chair.

"Hey! Have more respect for my personal space!" Dist yelled as he began to fly back and forth, trying to throw the girl off.

Vaclav pressed a button on the computer terminal, opening a communication channel throughout the bridge. "We're under attack! All units, be on guard. We have intruders on the bridge; don't let them leave here alive!"

Only a few seconds later, the doors slid open behind the heroes, and a group of ninjas rushed in, immediately attacking. Thinking quickly, Senel and Moses ran over to Will and Shirley, freeing them from the restraints.

"Are you two all right?" Senel asked.

"We are now," Will said, rubbing his wrists.

"Where's Jay!?" Moses demanded.

Shirley stood up, shaking her head sadly. "Solon took him somewhere else."

"Dammit! We gotta find him!" Moses pulled out his spear, looking around. "Where is he? I'm gonna kill that bastard!"

"I don't know..." Shirley said. "But you're right, we have to find Jay. Solon is doing something terrible to him..."

Dist was still spinning his chair. "I said there's no room for you!"

"Ahh!" Norma screamed as she clung to the chair, but eventually lost her grip and flew across the room. She crashed into Guy, knocking him to the floor.

Dist stopped spinning his chair. "Oh, now look what you've done!" he cried, shaking his fist. "You've made me dizzy!"

Norma sat up. "Wow, nice catch, Blondie!"

Guy lifted his head, his entire body trembling. "Pl...please....d-d-don't mention it...." He then passed out, his head dropping back to the floor.

"Blondie, wake up!" Norma cried, slapping him back and forth. "This isn't the time to be sleeping!"

Natalia kept her distance from the ninjas, deftly firing her arrows at them. Then, from the corner of her eye, she spotted a sinister man in the doorway. The man named Solon stood in the doorway, stroking his katana with his index finger. He grinned evilly, while curling his index finger towards herself, beckoning the princess to follow. Natalia paused for a moment, looking around at her comrades. She wanted to call out to them, but they were too caught up in the battle. Additionally, Solon turned and fled from the control room.

"Hey!" Natalia reflexively began to chase after him, leaving the control room.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: I've been waiting for a long time for this, the chance to write Jay/Natalia. I just hope I did all right with Natalia's character...

Chapter 9

Natalia raced through the bridge corridors after Solon. Soon, she lost sight of him, and she stopped herself in one of the corridors, sliding along the slick floors before coming to a complete stop.

"Great...I lost him..." she mused to herself.

Looking back and forth, she realized the number of twists and turns she'd made in her pursuit. If she turned back, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to find her way back to the others.

"I think....I'm lost," she added.

Regardless, she decided to press on. Keeping her bow ready, she slowly moved to the end of the corridor. As she reached the door, she pressed herself against the wall. When the door slid open, Natalia quickly stepped through, aiming her bow. The door only led to another empty corridor. Natalia continued to move slowly, looking out for any assailants. There was no place to hide in this corridor, but somehow Natalia could sense the sinister man's presence nearby.

"Where are you!?" she called out. "Show yourself! I'm not in the mood for games!"

No response.

As Natalia continued to move forward, she spotted another sliding door on the left side. Pressing herself against the wall again, she stopped next to the floor. She stepped in front of the door, prompting it to slide open, and then quickly stepped inside, aiming her bow once again.

"What!?" she gasped.

There was only one person in the room. A very distinctive boy, encased in the clear soundproof fiberglass. Natalia looked up at the ceiling, where the blue and yellow orbs were still very much active.

_Could that be....is that....Jay?_ she wondered.

She knelt down next to the fiberglass and knocked on it lightly. "Hey! Excuse me....hello!"

Inside the clear prison, Jay simply lay pitifully on his side, still in the fetal position. His eyes had a vacant expression, while tears streamed down his face. He could still feel the horrible sensations, and they felt worse than ever. But now he was so burned out, he no longer had the energy to scream or cringe in pain. Within the soundproof glass, he was completely oblivious to the woman calling out to him.

"Hey!" Natalia pounded on the glass again. "Can you hear me? Say something!"

Still no response from the boy. It was as though he was dead to the world.

"I have to get him out of there!" Natalia went over to the computer terminal, studying it for a moment. Then, pressing a few random buttons, she managed to stop the device, and lift up the fiberglass surrounding Jay.

Jay's eyes widened as his body began to tremble. The pain finally stopped, and he heard the fiberglass being lifted. He could only guess that Solon was back.

Natalia quickly ran to Jay, kneeling beside him and gently sitting him up. Jay gasped as he began to struggle futily.

"Hey, calm down!" Natalia told him. "It's okay! I'm here to help!"

Jay relaxed, but his body continued to tremble slightly. "Who....who's there? I can't....I can't see...."

"I'm....my name is Natalia."

"Natalia...." Jay seemed to ponder for a few seconds. "Ah...I remember. You're the one who was unconscious."

Natalia rolled her eyes. _Is that the only way they know me?_ she thought. But now was not the time to dwell on it. Besides, this was the first time they'd met after Natalia's awakening, so she couldn't particularly blame Jay.

"Yes, I'm the one who was unconscious," she confirmed, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Jay made an odd laughing sound....that seemed to be a cross between laughing and crying.

"What...?" Natalia began to inquire.

"I can hear it....the anger...."

"I....I'm sorry....I'm not blaming you."

Jay let his body fall limp, taking a few rasping breaths.

Natalia looked down at him carefully. "What happened?"

"Torture...." Jay responded simply.

Natalia let out a small gasp. "You were being tortured??"

"Constant pain...." Jay continued. "No death....no unconsciousness....just endless, excruciating pain...."

Natalia set the boy down carefully on the floor. "Don't move. I'm going to heal you with my artes."

She held her hands over his chest area. Soon, Jay could feel her soothing energy washing the pain from his body, letting out a series of rasping breaths.

"There, how's that?" Natalia asked.

Jay sat up slowly, still feeling a weakness in his gut, and the numbness throughout his body. "My body feels numb....but at least I can move again. Thank you."

"By the way, I haven't caught your name yet. Are you....?"

"Oh...I'm Jay."

"Jay....I thought so. Norma wasn't kidding when she said that you were very distinctive."

"Norma...." Jay looked around, but without his vision, he could only use his ninja senses to survey the room. "Where is everyone? I can't sense anyone else in the room. Did you come here alone?"

"No, I came with my friends. And yours."

"Then where is everyone?"

"They're still fighting Vaclav's soldiers in the control room. I was pursuing a man with evil eyes."

"You mean Solon?"

"Solon? Is that his name?"

"Yes...he's the one who did this to me."

"But why? Why would he do this?" Natalia asked.

"He's the one who raised me," Jay replied. "Ever since I was a child....my real parents abandoned me. Solon took me in and raised me to be an assassin. He raised me to kill..."

Natalia studied his words carefully. "Why are you telling me this?"

"It's better to hear it from me now than to hear it from him later. It's a common tactic that villains use....they reveal a dark secret about your allies to shatter your trust."

"I see....yes....since you were honest enough to tell me this, then I must trust you. And you certainly don't have the eyes for murder like he does."

Jay slowly stood up, groaning. Natalia stood up and watched him carefully.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Jay said. "But we shouldn't stay here any longer."

"You're right." Natalia picked up her bow and faced the doorway. "We must return to the others. I'll protect you, so stay close to me."

Jay paused for a moment, keeping a laugh in. "Um...very well," he agreed hesitantly.

The pair walked over to the door. As it slid open, Natalia poked her head out, looking in both directions, making sure that the corridor was clear.

"Okay, let's go..." she whispered, turning to the right.

Jay stepped into the corridor, pausing for a second to listen for her footsteps before following.

--------------------

As the battle was still ensuing on the bridge, Grune paused, looking down at Guy's unconscious body.

"Oh dear..." she mused.

"G-Girl, do something!" Norma cried, still kneeling over Guy. "Maybe you can wake him up!"

"Hmm...all right," Grune replied, almost in a singsong voice.

Kneeling beside Guy, she carefully pressed her mouth against his.

"Ooh, CPR! Great idea!" Norma exclaimed.

Suddenly, Guy jerked awake with a series of hollowed coughs. Then, as he caught his breath, he looked up at the pale beauty hovering over him.

"Good morning, Guy...." Grune sang.

Guy's eyes widened. "Aaaaahhhh!!" He passed out once again, dropping his head back on the floor.

"Not again!" Norma growled.

"Norma!" Luke called as he and the others gathered around them.

Norma stood up, looking around, confused as she saw that Vaclav and the ninjas were no longer in the room. "Hey...where'd everybody go?"

"They ran away scared!" Moses called cheerfully.

"Great...now would somebody get this guy up??"

"Allow me." Jade knelt down beside Guy, pinching his arm with two fingers.

"Ahh!" Guy suddenly sat up. He let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Jade. "Oh, Colonel, it's you..."

"You can get up now; the battle's over," Jade told him.

Guy stood up and looked around. "Whoa...did I sleep through the whole battle?"

"Bold warrior, it's time to wake up," Chloe responded bitterly.

Guy gave her a confused look, then looked around. "By the way, where's Natalia?"

Luke looked around, realizing that the princess was no longer in the room. "Natalia! Where's Natalia?"

"Oh, I saw her running off after So-So," Norma replied.

Luke glared at her. "And who the hell is 'So-So'?"

"She means Solon," Will told him. "He's extremely dangerous. I doubt Natalia's archery skills will be very effective against him."

"Does Natalia have any other skills?" Senel asked.

Luke and his comrades shook their heads.

"Then she is so dead," Norma spat.

"You don't have to say it like that!" Shirley cried.

Norma gave her an odd look. "Why not?"

"Maybe she'll find Jay."

"It's possible, but not very likely," Will said. "Natalia doesn't know this place, plus we don't even know if Jay is still on the bridge."

"Well, we'd better hurry up and find her!" Luke said.

The group nodded in agreement and quickly left the control room.

------------------

Meanwhile, Natalia led the way through the corridors of the bridge, while Jay followed blindly, studying his surroundings with his enhances senses. Without warning, he stopped and gasped.

"Something's coming!" he warned.

Natalia stopped as well. "What?"

Just then, the doors slid open both in front and behind them, and a group of soldiers entered the corridor from both sides.

"There! We've found an intruder!" one of them yelled.

"And she's rescued the brat!" a second soldier added.

Natalia raised her bow. "Jay, get behind me quickly!"

Jay looked around, sensing the soldiers from both directions. "What good will that do?"

As the soldiers behind rushed in to attack, Natalia quickly faced them, firing her arrows, striking one of them in the abdomen. As the other two closed in, Natalia deftly slipped past them, quickly facing them again.

Jay moved away from her, while facing the soldiers in the opposite direction.

"Master Solon wants you alive," one soldier said. "Come quietly, or we'll take you by force."

Jay narrowed his eyes while slipping his hands into his pockets. "I think not."

As the soldier rushed in for an attack, Jay spotted an opening. In a seamless motion, he pulled a dagger from his pocket, sticking it deep into the soldier's abdomen. As the soldier doubled over, Jay withdrew the dagger, then twirled it in his hand, giving the soldier a hard backhand to the face.

Natalia continued to cleverly evade the soldiers' attacks, firing some well-placed arrows at them until they fell. Then as she looked up, she spotted Jay facing the last soldier. With a dagger in each hand, Jay spun around towards the soldier, slashing him with both daggers. Then as he came out of the spin, he stuck both hands in his pockets, throwing a forward kick into the soldier's chest, knocking him to the ground.

Natalia quickly ran over to him. "What are you doing!?"

Jay straightened himself and faced her, looking up blankly. "Hmm?"

"I said I was going to protect you!"

"Yes...and?"

"And yet you're fighting these soldiers as if....as if you were the one protecting me!"

Jay shook his head and shrugged. "Well, I can't help you with your image problems. You're an archer, while I must fight up close."

"But you shouldn't be fighting in your condition!" Natalia insisted. "I said I was going to protect you, and I was being quite sincere!"

"Right. It's reassuring to know that when I face the enemy, you're always nearby with your bow in hand."

"That is unacceptable! I can't let you fight in your condition!"

"I beg your pardon, but despite my current condition, I'm not such easy prey. Surely you realize that by now."

"It makes no difference! You are in no condition to fight!"

Jay let out an exasperated sigh as he pondered for a few seconds. "Fine, fine. You're absolutely right. After all, I wouldn't want to collapse on the battlefield like you did."

Natalia felt a burst of rage rising within her. _Why do they keep fixating on that??_

"Are you always like this?" she asked.

"Always like what?"

"Like...an obnoxious little brat!"

Jay smiled. "I am often called that, yes."

Natalia seemed taken aback. "Yet...you seem so proud of it."

"It's just the way I am, so get used to it." Jay turned and began to walk down the corridor again.

"Excuse me!" Natalia briskly walked after him. "Have you any idea whom you're addressing? I am the princess of Kimlasca, in case you didn't know!"

Jay stopped and faced her again. "Good for you. But what does that have to do with me?"

"It's customary to show respect for a figure of royalty."

"Is that all? Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to leave this place as soon as possible. So...." Jay pulled his dagger from his pocket and held it out towards Natalia. "Here."

Natalia raised an eye as she took the dagger. "What's this for?"

"You said you were going to protect me, so I'll hold you to your promise," Jay explained. "When the enemies next show up, I'll leave the fighting to you. Surely, Princess, you would never shirk the responsibility of your own words. So I hereby place my life in your hands."

"All right," Natalia agreed. "No arrow can reach all enemies, but I'll guarantee your safety."

"That's what the dagger is for," Jay pointed out. "It works quite well for close encounters."

"Right...well, let's get going." Natalia headed down the corridor again.

"As you wish," Jay smiled to himself as he followed.


End file.
